Purpose-led, values based

Our purpose is to help every child fulfil their unique potential, by connecting and empowering the community around them.

We learn from the best

Storypark is shaped with the guidance of brilliant teachers, parents and experts from around the world.

Dr. Charles Pascal Storypark Advisor

Charles is an internationally renown Canadian educator with expertise in early and higher education, public policy and leadership development. A former deputy minister in Ontario, Charles has published extensively in the fields of psychology and education and has received extensive and diverse awards and recognitions.

Dr. Edward Melhuish Storypark Advisor

Professor of Human Development at the University of Oxford, involved in studies that have contributed to the formulation of social policy in the UK, a consultant to the Stanford Research Institute, and a scientific advisor to the Nordic Research Council, Academy of Finland, Portuguese Research Council, German Research Council, the Australian Research Council, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Chile, as well as the European Commission, OECD and WHO.

Maria Aarts Storypark Advisor

Maria Aarts is an expert in child development and the Founder and Director of Marte Meo International. ‘Marte Meo’ means “by one’s own strength” and is a method which focuses on the importance of communication in the building of relationships and emotional connections. Her philosophies and practices support a variety of programmes across 46 countries.

Dr. Laura Jana Storypark Advisor

Dr. Laura Jana is a pediatrician, educator, health communicator, author, associate research professor at Penn State’s Prevention Research Center and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Anne Meade Storypark Advisor

Anne has focused on early childhood education for most of her career spanning over 40 years, as both a teacher of young children, a researcher, lecturer, author, and policy developer. Many teachers say Anne is the reason they got into teaching.

Joce Nuttall Storypark Advisor

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University, educator and curriculum guru. Joce has published over fifty books, book chapters and scholarly articles and is a regular presenter of keynote addresses at international conferences in the areas of teacher development, and early childhood curriculum and policy.

Sue Robb Storypark Advisor

Sue has worked as a SIP, Ofsted inspector and is recognised for her work on early years quality improvement (UK). She was the Senior Director for Early Years in the National strategies, and as Head of Early Years at 4Children led the development of the Department for Education’s new early years strategic programme, Foundations for the Future.

June Mcloughlin Storypark Advisor

June has worked as Director of Family and Children’s Services at Doveton College, the Director of Early Learning and Community Engagement of Colman Foundation and worked with a number of high level federal and state government committees, and boards including Goodstart Early Learning and the Australian Children’s Education and Care Authority

Kim Hiscott Storypark Advisor

Kim Hiscott is a proud Registered Early Childhood Educator and Executive Director of Andrew Fleck Child Care Services in Ottawa. Throughout her career she has been passionate about connecting parents with their children’s learning and sees this as one of the most important roles of ECEs.

Christine Legg Storypark Advisor

Christine is Chief Executive Officer of KU Children’s Services in Australia. She began her teaching career in South Australia, then moved to NSW to join KU over 30 years ago. Chris has been actively engaged in promoting the rights of children and improving the status and standing of early childhood education as a profession. Chris is also the Deputy National President of Early Childhood Australia.

Dr. Bradley Hannigan Storypark Advisor

Dr. Bradley Hannigan attended Plimmerton Kindergarten and then gained four degrees at Victoria University of Wellington. Bradley is the Senior Education Advisor at Nelson Tasman Kindergartens, a Board member and devoted dad.

Inspired by our mums

Storypark has an unusual heritage that shapes the way we think. All of the senior leadership team’s Mums have long careers in early childhood. They have given us our values and perspective, and continue to guide us in our thinking and direction with Storypark. Thanks Mum!

Janet Dixon Peter’s Mum

Janet trained as a Kindergarten teacher, and worked in a variety of settings during her career including focusing on supporting children with additional learning needs. She worked in professional development at Victoria University and now supports ECE leaders, facilitates the ‘Incredible Years’ programme and loves being a Nanna!

Lynda MacDonald Jamie’s Mum

Manager of Aroha Early Learning Centre, delights in observing and being involved in children’s learning. Storypark was first thought up by Jamie when Lynda mentioned she wanted a secure online environment to document children’s learning. It occurred to Jamie that other educators might want this too, and the rest is history.

Carol Hartley Mathew’s Mum

Carol has been Head Teacher at Mangere Bridge Kindergarten for 20 years and is a bit of an expert in the transition from ECE to school. She speaks internationally and is co-author of a variety of publications including the book ‘Crossing the Border.’

Pam Malcolm Andrew’s Mum

The daughter of a Kindergarten teacher, Pam trained as a primary school teacher and taught in NZ, Europe and the Middle-East. She completed her Bachelor of Education, Masters and Postgraduate studies and is now a facilitator for the Incredible Years Parenting Programme, a proud Nana of twin girls, and an avid Storypark user.

What impact is Storypark making?

97%of parents feel that Storypark has enabled them to be more involved in their child’s learning.

We believe it takes a community to raise a child

Society is becoming increasingly isolated – neighbourhoods, families and generations are separated by the pace and practices of modern-day life. We believe it takes a community to raise a child, and have created Storypark to help support this belief.

Everything we do is child‑centric

Storypark works to make a difference – not just a dollar. We pursue evidence-based, earnest discoveries to solve the root of important problems. Our approach comes with a sincere respect for children, including their privacy and contribution.

We’re thinkers, researchers and creatives

We borrow from action research and human-centred design philosophies. We’re made from equal parts logic and creativity. We research, listen to our users, and experiment. And we ask “Why?” until it can’t be asked any more.

Jamie MacDonald Co-CEO

Jamie was born in Gore and went to Gore Playcentre. Since then he has worked for a variety of businesses helping people get the most out of their online interactions. Jamie originally created Storypark for his mum, who is an early childhood educator in Gore.

Peter Dixon Co-CEO

Peter was born in Auckland and went to Brooklyn Kindergarten. Since then he has helped develop a number of ventures in both New Zealand and North America, and worked to support other organisations who believe in making a difference in the world.

Dion Mortensen Chairman

Dion is a full-time professional Director. He currently serves the Boards of eight organisations, a mixture of SMEs, start-ups and a not-for-profit.

Mathew Hartley CTO

Matt was born in Auckland and went to Mangere Bridge Kindergarten (where his mum, Carol, is the head teacher). Mathew has been interested in technology since his early years, and has been a web developer since graduating with an engineering degree.

Andrew Fyfe User Experience Designer

Andrew was born in Karangahake Gorge and went to Nassau Kindy in the Bahamas. Andrew has been helping design Storypark since it first began, and makes sure it’s easy for teachers and families to use.

Mike Hyde Product Manager

Mike was born in Levin and went to Cambridge Street Kindergarten, before graduating from Victoria University of Wellington. Mike is passionate about providing good experiences for Storypark’s users.

Lynnette Parkin Relationship Manager

Lynnette was born in Lower Hutt and went to Brown Owl Kindergarten. She is a trained primary school teacher and was a user of Storypark in her daughter’s ECE centre before joining the team. Lynnette’s passion and energy come from her belief that every child should be surrounded by love, warmth and understanding. Lynnette thrives on making connections between children and their families and communities.

Lisa Lalonde North American Community Manager

Lisa’s early years were supported at home by her family. She now teaches at Algonquin College and is a Registered ECE in Ontario Canada, with a graduate degree in Educational Leadership and Management.

Matthew B. Gray Software Developer

Matthew went to Terrace End Playcentre in Palmerston North and ended up finding his passion in Software Craftsmanship. He loves connecting with people over software to help them unlock their superpowers.

Sharon Carlson Professional Learning and Development Manager

Sharon grew up in Taranaki, and went on to become an ECE ICT facilitator for CORE Education in New Zealand. Sharon joined Storypark to make sure teachers get the most out of their professional development.

Chris Stokes Customer Success Manager

Chris was born in Wanganui and went to Gonville Kindergarten. He has studied Psychology and Management and worked extensively in customer service.

Aaron Thornton Software Developer

Aaron was born in Lower Hutt and went to Jack and Jill Kindergarten. He graduated from VUW with a Computer Science degree. Inspired to work on projects with good social outcomes he decided to join Storypark.

Ellery Prisk Full-stack developer

Ellery was born in Australia and came to New Zealand at the age of one where he attended Bulls kindergarten. He graduated from VUW with a degree in Information Systems and Computer Science. He enjoys using technology to make hard tasks easier.

Alana McGillivray Head of Marketing

Alana grew up in Napier and Lower Hutt, NZ and went to Tamatea Kindergarten. Her background is in digital marketing and she’s excited about helping Storypark grow and make a difference for more children and families around the world.

Carl Rosati Illustrator/Graphic Designer

Carl grew up in Norfolk, UK where he studied and worked as a freelance illustrator before moving to New Zealand with his wife, who is from Wellington.

Alex Quinlivan Head of Mobile Development

Alex was born in Wellington and went to Khandallah Kindergarten. Alex has been developing mobile apps since he left school.

Megan Bayliss Office Experience Manager

Megan was born in Upper Hutt and spent her early childhood years there, attending Birchville Kindergarten. Megan is happiest when she’s busy and helping others.

Ben Childs Media Production Manager

Ben was born in London, but he went to Busy C’s preschool in Lyttelton. Ben’s strongest skill is telling stories through video.

Timothy MacDonald Web Developer

Timothy was born in Gore and went to Gore Playcentre. Since then he’s built a career in website development and joined his brother in the Storypark team.

Kim Paice Accounts

Kim was born in Wellington, but later moved to Rotorua. When she’s not crunching numbers, she’s training her dogs to compete in three different dog sports.

Sonya McIntyre Community Manager

Sonya went to Rata Street Kindergarten and Petone Kindergarten, before gaining her Bachelor of Education at Victoria University. As well as working with Storypark, Sonya works as an ECE teacher.

Isaiah Alamani Technical Support

Isaiah was born in Wellington and went to Sunshine Kindergarten. With experience in customer service, sales, and support, Isaiah is always keen to help customers get the most out of Storypark.

Beth Clements Australian Professional Development Trainer

Beth has worked in early childhood in a variety of roles over the last 17 years, including Educator, Centre Director, Area Manager, Educational development manager, Trainer and Coach. She’s been an expert user of Storypark for three years and brings this unique perspective to her pedagogical training skills.

Amanda Higgins New Zealand Professional Development Trainer

Amanda has managed and led teaching teams in both long-day and sessional early childhood education services, lectured at University, and has been a facilitator working with teams of teachers exploring how digital technologies support children’s learning. In 2015 she completed her Master’s thesis, which investigated how e-portfolios affected communication between teachers and families in an early childhood education centre.

Matt Tunnicliffe Relationship Manager

Matt was born in Wellington and went to Newtown Kindergarten. He has spent his career working across Australasia building and maintaining meaningful customer relationships. Since the birth of his daughter, Sophie, in March 2018, Matt has found new purpose and is committed to supporting every child’s learning journey through creating meaningful connections with the community around them.

Louisa Thomas Technical Support Representative

Louisa was born in Christchurch and went to Rutland Street Kindergarten. She loves to travel and has been building her customer service, technical and education skills throughout New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan. Louisa is really looking forward to helping Storypark customers near and far.

Devyish Gandhi iOS Developer

Devyish was born in Lower Hutt and went to Hataitai kindergarten. His skills are in iOS/Mobile Development, easily adaptable to other languages and their syntax. He used to play Badminton social seriously, now he’s more focused on lifting heavy weights.

Kirsty Traill Board Member

Kirsty is the Vice President of Customer at Hootsuite. She’s passionate about making a difference for children and families and brings a new international perspective to the Storypark family.

Hilary Cook Digital Community Manager

Hilary went to Manchester Kindergarten in Fielding and studied communications and science at Massey University. She has been an early childhood teacher in Buenos Aires, and an English teacher in Colombia.

Jamie Lawrie Data Analyst

Jamie grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and attended Mary Erskine Nursery. He has spent 20 years working in various data analytics roles and is excited to see how data can help Storypark develop even better products and deepen the understanding of its users

Storypark is for everyone

Storypark is committed to making a difference for all children, families and communities. We provide lifetime free access for services working in disadvantaged communities.